I count myself among those truly blessed, with wonderful
friends and a family I love and admire. At this time of year,
we feel the need to revisit the bonds that have grown over the
years, and to strengthen those we have recently discovered. In
the past year, our family has grown, we have bought a new house,
and setbacks seem minor. I have gained a close association with
some exceptional clients/friends across the United States, and
am working on a writing project I am very excited about! We live
in one of the most beautiful places in the universe, in my opinion.
We have great neighbors, and wonderful friends, who live very
close by. That, along with the fact that Danny and I are truly
happily married, and best friends, as well, just makes life all
the sweeter.

In January 2003, Joyce and Mark gifted us with my
first "genetic" grandchild, Caleb Grant. Although I
was already enjoying being a Grandma, I have had the opportunity
to relive much of Joyce's babyhood in Caleb's first year of life,
as he looks uncannily like his mother. He has been with me two
days a week or so since summer, while Mom and Dad work. What a
joy!!

Between us, Danny and I share seven kids, Jason,
Justin, Jeremiah, Joyce, Heather, Jessica, and Ross. All but two
are here in NH (we miss you girls in Michigan!!) and we have six
grandchildren, Bridgette, Dan, Stephanie, Ethan, Haley, and Caleb.
Our oldest granddaughter, Bridgette, is only ten months younger
than my youngest son, Ross, (who is 14) so we have a house full,
most of the time. Our beautiful, blended family just keeps growing!

My three sister's families are a great joy, as well,
and we are all very close. Family holidays are SO much fun! We
take every opportunity to celebrate milestones. Just this last
January, my mother (Joyce) had her 70th birthday, where Caleb
made his first public appearance, at three days old, (both Joyce's
looked "great"!) and then in November, we celebrated
my Dad's 75th! We celebrated Danny's birthday in June, (our first
party at the new house) Jason's in August, Bridgette just turned
13, and my twin and I celebrated our day on Labor Day weekend!
Danny and I have been going overboard having family events at
our new house, (just 'cause it's OURS) and the house has accommodated
our needs very well! We just had a big family Christmas party,
although sadly missing a few folks kind enough to keep illnesses
at home! We love you!

The house itself has been a great adventure! We
bought it from a family friend in June, no realtor involved, and
I actually think it was ENJOYABLE for us, right down to the closing.
The moments of anxiety were offset so well by the cooperative
nature of the parties involved, that we hugged at the closing!
(Well, I did!) It is a 4-bedroom (read three and a small office)
Cape on 2 acres of wooded Meredith Neck, (just at the entrance
to Spindle Point on Meredith Bay, for those with a visual of the
area).
We have a beautiful view, with an orchard next door, like a Maxfield
Parrish masterpiece. When we moved in, the house had been a rental
for a year, the yard was overgrown, and lots of stuff needed to
be done... see photos here soon.

Danny and the kids tore down the living room ceiling
first thing, and we painted the living room and kitchen before
we moved in. Danny's son, Justin, helped put down a beautiful
new floor in the kitchen. Since then, small repairs and such have
kept us busy, but we are blessed that the house is sound and cozy,
leak-free and easy to maintain. We are slowly unpacking, and snuggling
in for winter. Danny roofed the big shed in the back yard, and
it now houses all the storage I will be bailing out of in the
Spring! I am dreaming of a summer studio for Danny!

We love having the deck, and have already done SO
much work on the front of the property, thanks to Danny's best
friend, Pete Louden, and Tom Zagami, my brother in law, both of
whom are GREAT with chain saws and power washers and brush removal.
The kids added to the group effort in a BIG way! I have had a
forestry specialist, Brenda Brown, who is also a client, working
with us on the back woods, paring down the clutter of tiny trees,
and it's slowly becoming navigable, useful space. We have enough
aged granite out back to build a small barn, but will probably
settle for some good old-fashioned New Hampshire stone walls.
We have great plans, and will take our time getting there.

Speaking of plans, Danny has been offering private
Martial Arts instruction to a devoted group of students, which
include Ross, Bridgette and Danial (He may start his own little
dynasty, I think!), some local teens, as well as a diverse adult
group ranging from ex-military personnel to mothers. We hope,
within the year, to open a local studio, where classes can meet
regularly. Watch for a web site for Shou Masters.

We had a couple of scary moments and close calls
this year, one when Jason had a severe anaphylactic reaction and
was hospitalized in the ICU overnight. He was blessed to make
it to the hospital in time... they truly had minutes to save his
life. His three kids were with his Mom at the time, luckily, and
they were able to call his wife, Lisa to be with him quickly,
but the scare was a serious one, and we all feel very lucky that
Jason is with us today!

Another scare was when Danny (who is a martial artist
AND a carpenter) severed a tendon in his left thumb, on Labor
Day weekend, and the orthopedic doctors scheduled surgery for
DAYS later! I was quite concerned, until they explained that they
prefer a controlled environment for such delicate surgeries, and
that no further damage would occur because of the wait. (Those
of you who know Danny will understand that the NEXT scary moment
will probably be when he finds out I just told everyone about
his thumb!! ;-)

Always adverse to pity of ANY kind, he, of course,
had impatiently assumed he would be back to work the day after
he DID the thing (and he was, less than a week later, at full
speed, cast and all). There is no keeping that good man down!
He has since regained quite a bit of the movement, but there is
permanent damage. We were so thankful for all the concern and
assistance surrounding that event!

For all of you, I wish a holiday season and New
Year filled with the joys of family and friends, and with knowing
that heaven is right here, right now, if that's how you live life.
I am struck by a story I found while delving into our geneaology
(my new fascination).... and that story follows,
here.